Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of gas turbine engines and, more particularly, to a compressor rotor stack assembly for gas turbine engines.
A gas turbine engine typically includes one or more rotor stacks associated with one or more sections of the engine. A rotor stack may include several longitudinally spaced apart blade-carrying disks of successive stages of the section. A stator structure may include circumferential stages of vanes longitudinally interspersed with the rotor disks. The rotor disks are secured to each other against relative rotation and the rotor stack is secured against rotation relative to other components on its common spool (e.g., the low and high speed/pressure spools of the engine).
Numerous systems have been used to tie rotor disks together. For example, a bore tied configuration may be employed, but a massive compressive load is put on the rotor backbone, which is located proximate a radially outer end of the rotor disks. The backbone may become bowed, such that the compressive load puts the backbone into bending, thus forcing the backbone structure to be very thick. Gas turbine engines are being required to spin faster than previously required, thus emphasizing the need to reduce rotor stress by eliminating as much mass as possible from high radius regions.